Johannes Vermeer Girl with a Pearl Earring Painting

Johannes Vermeer Girl with a Pearl Earring Painting
Vermeer girl with the pearl earring
Inside, two men covered a third as he advanced. Moving in groups of three inthis fashion, they rapidly spread through the ship. Corridors rang hollowly undermetal-shod feet, and doors slid aside willingly as they were activated. "Empty," the Sergeant in charge finally declared in surprise. "Check thecockpit." Several troopers made their way forward and slid the portal aside, only todiscover the pilot's chairs as vacant as the rest of the freighter. The controls weredeactivated and all systems shut down. Only a single light on the console winked onand off fitfully. The sergeant moved forward, recognized the source of the light, andactivated the appropriate controls. A printout appeared on a nearby screen. Hestudied it intently, then turned to convey the information to his superior, who waswaiting by the main hatch. That worthy listened carefully before he turned and called down to theCommander and Vader. "There is no one aboard; the ship is completely deserted,sirs. According to the ship's log, her crew abandoned ship immediately after lift-off,then set her on automatics for Alderaan." "Possibly a decoy," the Commander ventured aloud. "Then they should still beon Tatooine!" "Possibly," Vader admitted reluctantly. "Several of the escape pods have been jettisoned," the officer went on. "Did you find any 'droids on board?" Vader called. "No, sir—nothing. If there were any, they must have abandoned the ship alongwith the organic crew." Vader hesitated before replying. When he did so, uncertainty was evident in hisvoice. "This doesn't feel right. Send a fully equipped scanning team on board. Iwant every centimeter of that ship checked out. See to it as soon as possible."With that, he whirled and stalked from the hangar, pursued by the infuriating feelingthat he was overlooking something of vital importance.